Montecatini Terme, with
its world- famous thermal baths,
large parks and gorgeous gardens
has been a busy health spa for
centuries. High above,
connected by a funicular railway
that was built in 1897, is
Montecatini Alto, a
fortified medieval town
commanding spectacular views of
the Tuscan countryside
which is dotted with many
villages and towns, and divided
by well-tended farms, vineyards
and olive orchards.

These "Montecantinis" sit in the
broad Valdinievole
on the A11 highway in
Pistoia Province between
Lucca to the west and Prato
and
Florence to the east.
They should not be confused with
Montecatini Val di Cecina,
which is 100 kilometers south in
Pisa Province.

Until 1905, Montecatini Terme
was merely an extension of
Montecatini Alto and was known
as Bagni di Montecatini.
In that year, they became two
separate and distinct comunes.
The were re-united in 1940.

At one time the area around the
city, fed by under ground
springs that tap the underlying
aquifer, was swampy and
malarial. The danger of
living in the valley lands is,
of course, one of the reasons
why people moved on to the
slopes of the hill and built
Montecatini Alto. The
other reason is that it commands
a strategic location overlooking
several ancient highways
including the Cassia, the
Francesca and the Romea.

Historically the area was within
Etruria, the lands of the
Etruscan
people, and there is some
evidence that they used the
waters and regarded them as
curative. The
Romans would also have
inherited this "knowledge",
though there is no record of
their using the place as a spa.
There are some writings from
about 1387 that refer to the
medicinal value of the springs,
but only in 1530 does evidence
emerge that people traveled here
to bathe in them. The fear
of malaria, caused by mosquitoes
gestating in the stagnant swamps
surrounding the spring,
prevented any further growth.

The first public bath, the
Regina, was constructed in
1733 when the village was still
known as Bagni di Montecatini,
and was part of
Montecatini Alto. But the
town did not start growing into
its present form until around
1771-72, when the Grand Duke of
Tuscany, Pietro Leopoldo,
ordered more draining and
canalling of the bottom lands.
He also ordered the building of
a larger complex of baths, now
known as the "Leopolidini
baths" to make the thermal
springs more accessible.
Other baths, including the most
famous of all, Il Tettuccio
("the Canopy") were built in the
late 19th century, usually in
the Liberty style.

The baths and the town that grew
up around them, were connected
with a tree-lined boulevard to
the Lucca-Pistoia road.
The city, with its Liberty
style buildings, wooded
avenues, and the large grassy
park, called the Panteraie,
actually evokes a sense of
places beyond the alps, Austria
say, or Germany or France.
Today, adding a touch of
Americana, there is even a
highly ranked golf course and a
horse racing track to add to the
drawing power of the resort.

The thermal waters which drive
the local economy purport to
offer relief for those with
arthritis, rheumatism, digestive
ailments and a host of other
maladies. But, standing at
the ready there is also an army
of "health care" practitioners,
to whom one can submit for
everything from bona fide
medical work, to massage,
physiotherapy, mud bathing,
beauty treatments, and whatever
else the spa industry has
dreamt-up, or will dream-up in
the future.

Montecatini Alto, about 200 or
so meters above
Montecatini Terme, is a
well-preserved medieval precinct
which may have been settled in
pre-Etruscan times by
Ligurian tribes. The
Etruscans probably had a
settlement here, as did the
Romans.

Montecatini Alto first appears
on a map in 1016 AD, well into
the Christian era. It was
subject to the usual conflicts
between local aristocrats,
invading armies, and
Ghibellines
and
Guelphs,
ultimately finding itself firmly
within the Grand Duchy of
Tuscany, where it remained until
the Duchy was absorbed into the
modern state of Italy in 1860.

Debarking from the funicular one
is immediately in the old town,
where one can enjoy a plethora
of ancient buildings, including
the remains of a castle, a few
palazzos and several churches.
The main piazza is capacious,
the winding and narrow streets
evocative of an age long ago.
There are, as mentioned,
spectacular views of the
surrounding country, and a
number of establishments where
one can find nourishment and
refreshment. We recommend,
for those with good legs, that
you descend to Montecatini Terme
by walking down the shaded roads
that are cut into the hillside.
It's a lovely stroll that offers
yet more glimpses of gorgeous
Tuscany.

The waters of the
baths at Montecatini
Therme percolate up
from a depth of from
60 to 80 meters.
They are mineralized
as they move up
through the rock
strata.

There are now nine
major "public"
baths, including Tettuccio, Excelsior,
Regina, Salute, Tamerici, Redi, Torretta,
Leopoldine and Grocco.

Italian opera owes
much to the spas of
Montecatini Terme.
Verdi,Rossini,
and Puccini
all spent time
composing here.

Liberty
Architecture,
much in evidence in
Montecatini Terme,
was an Italian
adaptation of the
Art Nouveau style
which originated in
France. It is
flamboyant and fun,
often incorporating
loose geometrical
forms, elegant
plants and flowers,
and stylized
animals. It was
popular from about
1880 to 1920, then
fell out of favor
during fascist
times, when
architecture became
somewhat plainer,
and in some cases
more brutal.